Foot control



April 2, 1940. w. J. SMITH FOOT CONTROL Filed May 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet1 A iiorneys W. J. SMITH FOOT CONTROL April 2, 1940.

Filed May 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I lnven tor mam? J- 'mz i AttorneysPatented Apr. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE The present inventionrelates to new and use-- ful improvements in foot controls and moreparticularly to controls whereby the brakes and accelerator of a motorvehicle can be controlled from a single foot pedal. This is acontinuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 110,544filed November 12, 1936.

An important object of the invention is to provide a single control foroperating both the brakes and accelerator of a motor vehicle through theagency of means whereby the control can be operated in differentdirections.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a control of thecharacter stated which is of simple construction and which is positiveacting in operation.

These and other important objects and advantages will be found in thefollowing specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a side elevational view of the control with parts insection.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the under portion of thepedal.

Figure 3 is a sectional view substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view substantially on the line 4-4 ofFigure 1.

Figure 5 is-av side elevational view with parts in section of thecontrol shown in Figure 1 without the heel spring and catch.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view partly in section of anothermodified form of the invention.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts, itcan be seen that numeral 4411 indicates the brake pedal which isprovided with'the heel plate 45a. Numeral 51 denotes a block having aflange 58 which is secured to the toe board i3 so that the lower portionof the block depends through the opening 59 in the toe board.

A housing 60 of dielectric material is secured against the bottom sideof the toeboard i3 under the opening 59 and has a spring contact finger6i secured at one end as at 62 to one side of the housing. The oppositeend of the spring finger 6| isnormally sprung from the contact 63 andthesecontacts 6263 are connected by the wire 64 with the battery and theusual starting motor of the vehicle. A plate of insulation is providedon the spring finger Si in opposed relation to the flat portion 66 ofthe depending shank 61, of the post 68, while the post 68 is providedwith the shoulder portion 69 bearing upon the upper end of the block 51.An car It depends from the pedal 44a and is pivotally connected as at Hto the upper end of the post 68. As is clearly shown in- Figure 4 theshank 6'? is provided with a lug 12 operating in the ninety degreeslotway II in the block 51, so that the shank 61 is only per- 5 mittedto turn a quarter turn. A coiled compressible spring 14 has one endconnected to the shank 61 and the other end to the block 51 so that thepedal 44a is always retained in proper. straight forward position.

1 An arcuate-shaped dovetail guide 15 is pro- .80 to the accelerator 30of the accelerator bell crank. The brake rod I0 is connected to the bellcrank 8| which, in turn, is provided with the aforementioned yoke 24against which the head 82 of the barrel 18 is engageable.

From an ear 83 on the pedal, at the heel there- 01 extends the tensionspring 84 which connects 25 to a lug 85 secured to the floor board.

A rockable catch 81 is provided on the foot pedal 44a. A spring 88engages with the trip 8! and serves to hold the lower end engaged withthe notch 89 on the post 68. When the pedal 44a is to be rotated on theblock 51 to operate the switch shown in Figure 3, the side of the shoecan be brought to bear with pressure against the upstanding flange 90 atthe forward end portion of the pedal 44- Obviously when the pedal isdepressed, the head 82 and the barrel 18 will serve to operate thebrakes while the rod I9 is free to slide in the barrel 18. However, onthe up-stroke oi the pedal 44a the cross pin 9| at the upper end of therod 19 will engage the lower end of the slotted barrel 18 so that therod 19 is pulled upwardly and the accelerator operated.

Figure 5 discloses substantially the same construction as is representedin Figure l and the same numerals are employed to designate like parts,except that in Figure 5, the spring 44 and catch 84 are eliminated.

' The operation in this form of the invention is that when the pedal isin neutral position and'no foot pressure is exerted on either end of thepedal, the spring 24a holds the brake in brake unapplied position, butwhen pressure is exerted on the toe portion of the pedal the brakes areapplied against. the tension of the spring 24a. 55

On the other hand, when heel pressure is exerted on the pedal a thepedal is rocked in the opposite direction, allowing the spring 24a todisengage the brakes, while a pull is exerted on the rod I! to eflectacceleration.

Another form of the invention is shown in Figure 8 and this formconsists of the pedal 223 hingedly connected at its rear end as at 224to the floor board.

A notched keeper 225 rises from the toe board and is engageable by theclaw head 22! at the lower end of the bell crank 22'! which isengageable at its upper end by the heel of the operator. A spring 228engaged with the upper end of the bell crank 221 serves to engage theclaw head 228 with the keeper 225. A coiled compressible spring 228 isinterposed between the toe board and the pedal 223 so as to normallytend to urge the pedal in an upward direction.

At the underside of the toe board is the bracket 230 on which is locatedthe bell crank 23l. A rod 232 is pivotally connected at its upper end asat 233 to the pedal 223 while at its lower end the same extends throughan opening in one end of the bell crank 23I and is provided with a crosspin 234 at a point below the said end of the bell crank so that the bellcrank can only be operated by the rod in the upward movement of the rod.Numeral 235 represents the usual accelerator control rod extending fromthe bell crank.

A second rod 238 is pivotally secured at its upper end as at 231 to thebottom side portion of the pedal 223 while its lower end is slidable inthe barrel 238, the lower end of which is pivotally secured as at 239 tothe brake operating bell crank 240. It can be seen, that by depressingthe pedal 223 the rod 236 will operate the brake bell crank 240. Bypressing downwardly on the trip 22'! the same can be disengaged from thekeeper 225 and by releasing the foot gradually, the spring 229 willraise the pedal so that the pin 234 and the rod 232 will lift thecorresponding end of the bell crank 23l to the end that the acceleratorwill be controlled.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention inspecificterms, it is to be under stood that numerous changes in the shape, sizeand materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed hereinafter.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In combination, a foot pedal, means for rotating and rocking the saidfoot pedal, said foot pedal being provided with a rotatable memberadapted to rotate with the pedal, a switch adapted to be actuated by thesaid rotatable member, vehicle control means and a slidable connectionbetween the vehicle control means and the foot pedal.

2. In combination, a foot pedal, means for rotating and rocking the saidfoot pedal, said foot pedal being provided with a rotatable memberadapted to rotate with the pedal, a switch adapted to be actuated by thesaid rotatable member, vehicle control means and a slidable connectionbetween the vehicle control means and the foot pedal, a post forsupporting the rotary member and a releasable catch between the pedaland the rotatable member.

3. In combination, a pedal, brake operating means, accelerator operatingmeans, means rock- 'ably supporting the pedal, connecting means betweenone end of the pedal and both operating means, and external forceapplying means connected to the opposite end of the pedal for normallytending to urge the pedal in one direction, and a catch associated withthe pedal for holding the pedal in neutral position against the tensionof said external force applying means.

4. In combination, a pedal, brake operating means, accelerator operatingmeans, means rockably supporting the pedal, connecting means between oneend of the pedal and both operating means, and external force applyingmeans connected to the opposite end of the pedal for normally tending tourge the pedal in one direction and a foot releasable catch carried bythe pedal for preventing the effect of the last mentioned means on thepedal.

5. In combination, a foot pedal. means for rotating and rocking the saidfoot pedal, said foot pedal being provided with a rotatable memberadapted to rotate with the pedal, a switch adapted to be actuated by thesaid rotatable member, said pedal and rotatable member being adapted tobe rocked without affecting the switch, vehicle control means and aslidable connection between the vehicle control means and the footpedal.

6. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, and a heel operatedcatch mounted in close proximity to the heel portion of the foot pedaladapted to hold said pedal against operation by said spring means.

'7. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, and a catch adaptedto hold said pedal against operation by said spring means, and meanspermitting rotation of the pedal, said pedal being adapted to be rotatedwithout affecting the position of the catch.

8. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator.

control, a brake control, means rockably supporting the pedal, aconnection between the pedal and the controls, spring means tending tourge the pedal in one direction to maintain one of the controlsoperating, and a catch adapted to hold said pedal against operation bysaid spring means, and means whereby the pedal can be rotated, and aswitch operated by said pedal when the latter is rotated.

9. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, said connectioncomprising a member pivoted to the pedal, a member slidably connected tothe pivoted member, abutting means between the pivoted and slidingmembers, one of the said members being adapted to actuate theaccelerator control and the other member the brake control.

10. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, said connectioncomprising a member pivoted to the pedal, a member slidably connected tothe pivoted member, abutting means between the pivoted and slidingmembers, one of the said members being adapted to actuate theaccelerator control and the other member the brake control, saidaccelerator and brake controls each including a rod, and a bell crankoperatively connecting each of the rods with its corresponding pivotedor sliding member.

11. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, said connectioncomprising a member pivoted to the pedal, a member slidably connected tothe pivoted member, abutting means between the pivoted and slidingmembers, one of the said members being adapted to actuate theaccelerator control and the other member the brake control, and atransversely i0 slidable connection between the pivoted member tingmeans between the pivoted and sliding members, one of the said membersbeing adapted to actuate the accelerator control and the other memberthe brake control, and a transversely slidable connection between thepivoted member and the pedal and means permitting rotation of the pedal,and switch means adapted to be operated when the pedal is rotated.

13. In combination, a foot pedal, an accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, and a catch adaptedto hold said pedal against operation by said spring means, a portion ofthe catch extending above the pedal.

14. In combination, a foot pedal, an'accelerator control, a brakecontrol, means rockably supporting the pedal, a connection between thepedal and the controls, spring means tending to urge the pedal in onedirection to maintain one of the controls operating, and a heel operatedcatch mounted in close proximity to the heel portion of the foot pedaladapted to hold said pedal against operation by said spring means, andmeans pivotally connected to the pedal and operatively connected to thesaid accelerator and brake controls.

WILLIAM J. Sm'I'H.

